


Countdown

by veronamay



Category: due South
Genre: Episode Related, Fanzine Submission, Ficlet, Gen, POV Minor Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-05-06
Updated: 2005-05-06
Packaged: 2017-10-30 13:59:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/332501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veronamay/pseuds/veronamay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An attempt to get inside a peripheral character's head - Dewey - during one of the most emotional moments of Kowalski’s life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Countdown

**Author's Note:**

> This story was originally submitted to Sidekicks Press in 2003 for their inaugural self-titled multifandom zine, [Sidekicks](http://www.lionheartdistribution.com/multimedia.htm#sidekicks).
> 
> Thanks go to [](http://lydia-petze.livejournal.com/profile)[**lydia_petze**](http://lydia-petze.livejournal.com/) for her all-purpose beta.

Two days to go. Hallelujah.

It's about damn time. I shouted it to the entire room and got a round of applause from everyone except Fraser, who doesn't count, and him. Man, if Kowalski gets in my face like that one more time, I’m gonna drop him to the floor. It’s pathetic. A cop killer's gonna get the chop, and he's suddenly all hearts and flowers about it.

I don't get it. What’s his problem? He should be glad she's finally going down - hell, he's the one who brought her in! She was the collar that got him his shield. He oughtta be more excited than the rest of us put together - one of the biggest cases in Chicago in the last ten years, and him the arresting officer. But he’s sitting over there with Fraser standing beside him like a guard dog, glaring at us for breathing, probably.

Screw him. If he doesn't want to see cons getting the big sleep, he shouldn't be a cop. And she's a cop-killer – man, she deserves it more than anyone else. If Kowalski ... excuse me, Vecchio ... if he's too damned sensitive to handle it then he should just get out now. Seems pretty simple to me: she did it, she's guilty, she's convicted, she's dead.

Looks like he doesn’t understand that. Maybe someone needs to explain it to him - small words, short sentences, that kind of thing.

Jack comes with me as I go over to Vecchio's desk. He's got a file open in front of him, and he's talking in low tones with Fraser, who's leaning over the desk, like he's protecting Vecchio from the rest of the bullpen.

"Still investigating the victims?" Jack says, just the right edge of disbelief in his voice. They look up, and I can’t help the smirk on my face.

"Is that not standard procedure in a homicide investigation?" Fraser says, and fuck me if he doesn't look at us like we’re something he’s scraped off his pristine boots. Fuck you, Mountie, I think to myself. You don’t count for shit around here.

I shrug. "Well, if it's an unsolved homicide, yeah, but we know the murderer on this one, so what's the point?" And I let my smirk widen just a bit. Gotta remind them what's what here. Beth Botrelle is guilty as sin, and she's going to get exactly what she deserves. And if Mr Bleeding Heart over there is having second thoughts now, well, that’s just too damn bad.

Whoa - Vecchio does not like that. He gets to his feet, all slow and threatening, Fraser snapping to heel like he always does. Now Vecchio's fixed his eyes on me, his lip curling, playing the tough guy, and there's something in his face I don't like. He looks - edgy. I don't mean nervous. I mean twitchy, dangerous. He looks ready to pull his fucking piece.

He stares right into me. "The point is - walk on. That's it. Just walk on. Get out of here, okay?" I never heard a voice like that before in my life.

I keep the smirk though, and raise both hands in mock surrender. Yessir, your royal highness. Right away, sir. Vecchio sneers right back at me. "Thank you," he snaps.

And just like that, he and Fraser bend over the file again as if we're not even there. I shake my head and walk off, Jack following behind, like I’ve got all the time in the world.

"He's got some serious issues, man," I say to Jack. "Something's not working right in his head."

Jack doesn't look as sure. "I don't know, Tom," he says, frowning. "If it was just Vecchio, I'd say sure, but Fraser's never usually wrong. Maybe there's more to it than we think."

"Oh, Christ, not you too!" I start, but before we can get into it, Welsh calls us both.

"Huey! Dewey!" he yells. Jack shrugs at me. I roll my eyes and head towards the lieutenant's office.

This isn't over yet. Vecchio has got to learn that he can't keep shaking things up like this. We're cops; we're supposed to stick together. And if we can't see eye-to-eye on an open and shut case, how the hell are we supposed to work together at all?

Besides, he's wrong. He's gotta be. She's guilty - she's spent eight years being guilty. She goes under in two days. It's too late to start questioning that now.

 

FINIS


End file.
